Features of Pacifica Island Theatre(
Related to 2009 set text Niu Sila by Oscar Kightley, Dave Armstrong
Multi-cultural NZ comedy of manners;
  • Pacifica/Pakeha juxtaposition;
  • Two families with the same make –up living within their own cultures
  • use of Samoan and contemporary slang;
  • actors playing multiple roles with versatile physicality;
  • “One of the challenges of NIU SILA for the actors is delineating between each character and making the changes of character, which often happen in rapid succession and sometimes even on a line, both clean and clear for themselves and for the audience.” (Cardy, 2005)
  • “The quick-change style of theatre keeps an upbeat pace in its scenes, beginning with the highly comically and suggestive poem which sees the actors rapidly switching from one character to the next. To define and clearly exhibit these character changes I have used a sudden and diverse modification of my body position, demonstrating the differentiation between the characters. For example, in the beginning scene where I change from Peter to Ioane, I change from Peter’s character whose defining body characteristic is that of his hands in his pockets to Ioane who crosses his arms and hunches his shoulder.” (Clarke, 2008 scholarship justification)
  • “The quick change style of Nui Sila presented a great challenge as to keep the flow of the action my changes needed to be slick and make sense. By using dramatic techniques I am able to have four clearly defined characters which make the transitions easier. I use a mix of spinning around, jumping between two characters and using a physical action (a clap) to make these changes successful. My aim is to present a piece that flows and creates the effect of four real characters on stage.” (Sam, 2008 Scholarship Justification)
  • identity and belonging,
  • having an insight into other cultures often in a stereotypical or comic way
  • stereotype spoofing;
  • Much of the humour in the play arises from cultural misunderstandings and confusions as well as from the array of easily identifiable attitudes that the characters convey (Cardy, 2005)
  • Indian diary owner
  • Indian cricket team: Patel Snr, Patel Jnr etc
  • South African teacher
  • P.I. Minister
  • use of symbolic set and minimal props;
  • Peach productions: empty stage
  • Downstage / ATC wooden panels – woven-look one half, straight English floor panelling, meet in the middle – cultures do not meld but are each culture experiences the other in a safe environment.
  • Places focus and importance onto the content and ideas shown through the dialogue and physical
  • No need for set changes keeps the flow and energy going
  • physical theatre;
  • high energy, flow
  • importance of family;
  • As a ‘brown story told through white eyes’, the play also raises the idea of community and its many interpretations (Armstrong)
  • extended family often mentioned or seen e.g. Uncle Po, church, family Sunday lunch
  • issues of racism and physical abuse;
  • cross-cultural friendships;
  • “The exploration of a cross cultural friendship in a changing world is the most poignant part of Niu Sila in my opinion.”(Phillips 2008 scholarship justification)
  • The dominant theme of NIU SILA is an exploration of friendship how even the best of friendships can be torn apart by society (Kightley)
  • allusions to the 1980 dawn raids and recent Asian immigration.

Quotes and Research

  • If you like, I see it as a real opportunity for cultures to meet. To take those stories from one group and share them with another (Ward, 2008)
  • A bi-cultural society, the experience suggests, does not require the cultures to meld. They can share a space and remain separate. It is possible that they may in time come to resemble each other in various ways. (Greenwood, 1999)
  • Pacific Island, NZ Theatre or bi-cultural theatre gives a creative opportunity for communities to learn about each other, they can walk safely in each other’s space, “try out”(Greenwood, 1999) the other’s point of view and confront their own.
  • Theatre created by Pacific Islanders was perhaps the biggest development in theatre in NZ in the 90s. Common themes include diaspora, displacement, home and disruption. It is a theatre of remembering focused in rediscovering cultural roots in order to fashion a new identity. (Balme & Carstensen, 2001)
  • The plays and productions of Pacific authors and theatre artists attempt to create new mental spaces at the interstices of traditional and postmodern ways of life (Balme & Carstensen, 2001).
  • The making of performed drama and images can be used as a means of exploring and reshaping who we are and how we live together (Greenwood, 1999)
  • Despite their geographical distance, many Pacific peoples living in New Zealand maintain strong social, spiritual and family ties to their homelands. The ways in which these connections are made, explored and expressed are incredibly diverse.(Mallon, 2001)
  • Theatre as a way of knowing: theatre is not only a location, physical and metaphorical where social understandings are acted out, it is also a means for shaping and refining understandings. The relationship between theatre and its social context is not simple involuntary and passively reflective, it is active and influential and sometimes deliberately so.
  • In a world where “otherness and difference is feared” drama allows us the ability to experience being someone else (O’Connor, 2009)

Pacific Art and Culture : Workshops & Seminars: Pasifika Playwrights: The future of Pacific Theatre in Auckland and beyond. Playmarket News, Autumn 2008 /

Balme, C. & Carstensen, A. (2001). Home Fires: Creating a Pacific Theatre in the Diaspora in Theatre. Research International Vol 26, No 1, pp35-46.

Cardy, L. (2005) Niu Sila: ATC Education Unit Teacher’s Pack. Auckland Theatre Company

Greenwood, J (1999). Journeys into a third space: A study of how theatre enables us to interept the emergent space between cultures. PHD Thesis Griffiths University

Mallon, S. (2001). Pacific Arts in New Zealand

PLAYING MULTIPLE CHARACTERS

Exercise starter:

Workshop participants were given a simple A B script (see below) which they, discussed, rehearsed and presented in pairs.

Participants were then informed to stand alone and re-work the script on their own, trying to recreate their partners movements, posture, gestures and voice.

It was suggested that as students often find this difficult that they all face outwards to the wall.

We then performed and discussed what worked and further ideas.

Participants were then shown a DVD from a past student doing a solo performance from Niu Sila.

A: Is this seat taken?

B: No.

A: Wonderful. I was hoping I would get a seat.

B: Hmm.

A: It’s a great place this, isn’t it?

B: I hadn’t really noticed.

A: Oh. That looks interesting.

B: Excuse me?

A: That. It looks interesting. Like something a certain type of person would have.

B: Really. What type of person would that be?